In recent years, there has been an uptick in funding for construction-technology ventures. Investors recognize construction is an industry that needs technology—and innovators are rising to the occasion. In some cases, the investors themselves are also in the construction-technology community.
Consider the recent example of EVERCAM, which announced a financial investment by Bentley iTwin Ventures, a part of Bentley Acceleration Initiatives, which is the internal incubator for strategic investments by Bentley Systems. Here’s how it works in this case. The investment will accelerate EVERCAM’s development of digital twin capabilities in the construction camera space.
First, all little bit of background: The iTwin platform is an open-source development environment. Meanwhile, EVERCAM leverage AI (artificial intelligence), BIM (building information modeling), and project-management software integrations to make multiple data points easily accessible from a single platform. The benefit here is construction companies, asset owners, and consultants can increase productivity through improved project visibility and team communication.
The financial investment by Bentley iTwin Ventures will take this to the next level. By leveraging Bentley’s iTwin platform, EVERCAM launched 4D view, which combines realtime, high-quality video footage of the jobsite with a digital twin. The benefit is being able to switch between the model and reality to track changes and communicate progress.
EVERCAM’s 4D view enables users to access a list of features from within the platform including remote measurement, navigational tools, and the ability to highlight anything from the 3D model as each element is recognized by the iTwin platform. Think slabs, beams, pillars, etc.
What makes this so unique is any changes made by the user to the BIM model will instantly update directly within EVERCAM 4D view via the iTwin platform. Also, Bentley’s iTwin platform enables EVERCAM to quickly integrate a variety of BIM models from different vendors. Users can additionally switch between the multi-dimensional model and the camera view to access the project-management tools.
The benefits are clear: Centralizing data allows users to communication more effectively, make better decisions, and drive productivity. Will this infusion of funds inspire greater innovation in the construction industry, and will we continue to disrupt the way things have always been done? With innovators at the helm, anything is possible.
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